Tech Team Edublog

Here are 3 the plugins that I have recently added to my blog.

Compfight Safe Image
Google Maps
3D Rotating Tag cloud

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CompFight – Is a quick way to search and insert images into the post. What is great about it is that once activating it, it added a new button on posts and by searching a simple word (ex. flowers or whatever is the topic of the post) instantly photo relevant to what was searched. The only problem is that its not directly getting images from Google, Bing or other browsers, its mainly has its own data base of photos.

Google Maps – is a plugin allowing to easily embed Maps into the posts, pages and sidebars, along with the options of labeling location, display local images and get directions. The benefit of having this plugin is that for research post about a place and with this, Google maps can be embed and displayed into the post instead of say, going onto Maps and screenshotting the researched location. Its similar to the ‘Add Document’ plugin if you know it. By clicking on the added button by the Add media, and Google maps would pop up and it would allow to add different markers on the map, then by clicking insert, it would place an embed code into the post. Before publishing, preview the post and check if its working.

3D Rotating Cloud – is a cool plugin to use to personalize a blog. Its used to make the simple soon to be long list of tags on the sidebar of the blog look more interesting and compacts the tags together so it doesn’t stretch down the sidebar when it does get long. Once activated and after adding the widget, in the blogs sidebar would be a literal cloud of spinning tags that moves when the mouse is over it. However, for it to work the device your on would require a Flash Player 9 or better, else it would remain as a list.

 

Sam the Athlete – Character Sketch

Character Sketch

                Sam the Athlete by Stuart McLean is a story that has a boy named Sam as the main character. In the beginning of said story, Sam wakes up one night and tells his mom that he needs new running shoes for his first school year in middle school. The next day, his mother bought him a new pair of red runners to replace his old, rundown white ones, after he put them on and left the store “In his imagination, Sam heard the abrupt bark of a gun going off in the distance, and he was off. He was so preoccupied with wind on his face . . . so captive with the beauty of his new shoes . . . that he ran right into a telephone pole. . . and as Sam sat on the sidewalk, his head in his hands, he was thinking that he should all along that the shoes weren’t going to help. . . It wasn’t that he was worried about the teachers, or the other kids. Mostly, it was about academics. And mostly it was about the most important academics class of them all – gym class.” (pg. 62-63). Sam was determined to excel in gym for his first year of middle school because he always sucked at it. He was hoping that he would find his dream sport with some help of his new shoes and from the sound of it in early years he always had a real struggle in find the right sport for him. As the story continues, it explains how so far in every sport Sam tries, he comes across an obstacle. For example, in hockey, Sam was never able to stop on his skates and then developed a method of turning in circles until he slowed down. However, playing hockey wasn’t a total lose because Sam wasn’t bad at being goalie. On Sam’s second week of middle school, he found out about the school’s field hockey and decided that he should join. On the first practice, the team’s coach had welcomed Sam on to the team which he appreciated. Then after about 30 minutes of play, Sam realizes that the entire team were girls because the coach had been calling Sam “Samantha” and he saw other players wearing scrunches or pink shirts under their helmets and gear. After it dawned on him, Sam wanted to silently leave the field and pretended that nothing happened. However, in the end, the coach said to him “Nice work, Samantha”, which was the phase he wanted to hear ever since his first soccer game. So he stayed on the team and pretended to be a girl. Through every practice, Sam became happy because after all those years, field hockey had been his sport and he was fine wearing the uniform skirt. No one really knew about him pretending to be a girl so he could play field hockey, until one day after dinner, Sam’s dad saw him practicing his moves in his bedroom, wearing the skirt. So then explained to his dad how he had been dressing up like a girl to play, and that he has no problem about it, except for not being honest. Though after his secret was out, Sam’s mom had found out it was okay for him to be on the field hockey team and that he could wear his short at the next practice. So, in conclusion Sam is ambitious, determined, honest and nervous throughout the story.

My First Nations Story

This story represents how I came to like reading and how much I learned through that. I read fictional stories, genres like fantasy, sci-fi, with a little comedy and I learned a lot from what is the story based on, how character react to certain events and what was referenced in the story. Even though these stories are fictional, all of them are based of real life experience.

Staying Safe at Work

What I will do to stay safe at work…

  1. Go over safety procedures, make sure I know how to do my job in a safe manner.
  2. If I was ask to do something that might be dangerous, just say NO.
  3. Ask as many questions as I have and make sure I have understanding.

What I will do to make sure to keep others safe at work…

  1. Make sure they understand how to do their job safety.
  2. Make sure that there is a superviser on site.

‘House’ Journal Response

House – Epiphany

When did Harry first undergo his epiphany? How? Harry and his wife Anna were conflicted about whether should they buy an island or a suburban house. Harry had thought that it was high time that they gotten a house, however he wanted for Anna to desire a house, instead she planned on using her money to buy an island to live on, Harry even offered to sell the boat;

“because I would like to do something ordinary for a change. I am an ordinary man, and I’d like to be

ordinary just to see what it’s like”. (Pg.26).

Harry had believed that he should follow some of society’s
expectations, that it is natural and necessary for all families to live in a conventional manner. So Harry,
Anna and their kids, Doll and Joey had gone house hunting and eventually sold their boat to be able to
afford what they were looking at. The night before the moved to their purchased house;

[“Honey, are we making a terrible mistake” said Harry “Sure” Anna said “That’s the way we like to live”

“But this is different” said Harry “What’s different about it” “The boat. For instances. Now, if that was a

mistake, it was our own. This is the sort of mistake everybody makes.” “Right.” “Ordinary” Anna said…

She went to sleep, leaving him with that terrible and lonely idea, which had been his idea all along.]

(Pg.28).
This shows how Harry started to feel and slightly realized that he been too hastily, desiring a house in the suburbs like all other ordinary people, wanting to have the good things of a middle – aged, middle – class man with a mortgage and depts. Having to sell their freedom of using a boat to achieve that goal; “…and sooner or later, Anna was going to face him with it. Why hadn’t they bought that crazy island? Or a plane or a race horse? Something to feel guilty and defensive and proud about. What could you fell with a house, particularly an ordinary, sensible sort of house . . .?” (Pg.29). Feeling awful about seeking a plane ordinary life, he shown off an unexpected twist and was very contented to see Anna using a wrecking tool on the wall.

Canada’s Identity

I choose this image to represent what we have in Canada, and the objects contained in this shows a lot of that. For example, there are trees, fish and a farm tracker which represents that Canada is a resource based country, meaning we make a lot of trade with wood, fish and crops. Another example is the boats and the marine, symbolizing how (before Confederation) people did most travel by boat/canoes or people who live on the east or west coast did mainly fishing. Here is a fact even; Did you know that Canada has the worlds largest costal lines, obliviously including both the east and west. Or another example is you can figure out that how Canadians favors hockey, curling and skating just by thinking what each figure is.(There is even a silhouette of the hockey Stanley Cup on the bottom left side of the totem pole in the middle of the leaf). This image shouts both historical and current interests of past and present Canadians. If any Canadian of today or even 50 years ago would stop and glance at this image, they would to, realize how many different things symbolize the Country of Canada.

Origin of Canada’s Flag

The question of the origins of our countries flag or the name sometimes came back to me. Discovering this article answered the question, which is the reason why I chose to post and share. To have a official national flag, it has to show/represent the characteristics of said country. For Canada’s current flag, the reason why it was chosen was for 3 reason; The clarity and striking design made it easily recognizable, it used Canada’s official national colours (red and white) , the maple leaf had already become a popular emblem of Canadian national identity at home and abroad. If someone from the year 1921 to the 1957, the wouldn’t recognize the Maple Leaf flag, because their flag(s) at the time was the Red Ensign Flag which had charged three times between those 2 time periods.

Current Flag

Before 1957, the maple leafs were green.

 

In 1921 Canada got a new coat of arms from the College of Arms in London.

The Red Ensign flag of Canada before 1921. The coat of arms was a collection of the province’s coat of arms.